VDB - My personal genealogical "provenance" that wasn't!

Some of you may know that I am a genealogist, and a smaller number of you may know I do Lithuanian genealogy, which required me to either learn some Russian, or pay someone to read the Russian records for me.

This lead me to a world of information which simply is not available in the Latin alphabet.

Here is a sample of how Catholic Church records were written in Russian:
I've highlighted and translated some info I read in these records.

This is a birth for Ieva- my great great grandmother. Her surname (Lithuanians have different last name ending depending on marital status) was Baranauskaitiė. Male version, Baranauskas. This surname isn't uncommon in Lithuania, but in small regions, Šiauliai in this case, it is safe to assume they are connected as the population stayed very still until the 20th century.

This is a story of how I found some crazy coincidence in my family tree, only for that coincidence to be too good to be true.

I'll start this beyond Brenner's death, oddly enough.

"Five years after Brenner’s death, in 1929, Dr. Alexander M. Rackus, a prominent Lithuanian American physician, ethnographer, historian, and numismatist, gave his version of the designer’s biography at a convention of the American Numismatic Association in Chicago." Draugas, a famed Lithuanian newspaper published in 2000.

Long story short, he says Brenner was born as "Viktoras Barnauskas" which is odd, as that is a Lithuanian name while Brenner was a Litvak, a Jewish man who would have had a different naming custom. I inquired with some peers of mine in Lithuania, from different backgrounds, and they confirmed that this was entirely abnormal.

Dr. Rackus absolutely made this up, or got it from someone who was a liar. This ANA speech was baseless, but it certainly was so long ago, this speech he gave is from an era long gone. He gives a speech full of false information based on the Draugas article, and only Dr. Rackus knows where this misinformation came from.

Will the ANA update this misinformation? For all I know, it is still commonly accepted, despite the Draugas article which really has a niche following.

To the ANA, as one who was deceived, I demand a 1909 S VDB as reparation!!

PS: I didn't take too long to write this, so if there are gaps in the story or you have questions I am glad to try and answer. This is quick info I decided to finally write after months of thought.

 

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A small clipping with some info I've found.

I have a couple hundred more names I have transliterated from the church records over the past 2 years that do not fit perfectly into the picture.

Research in this region is hard- lots of destroyed records from Soviet occupation means that there are lots of holes, and without an easy, digital way to search, the work I have done is more research based on surnames in a certain geographical region, rather than looking for specific people. All of them are cousins... somewhere kind of deal.

 

My late mother did genealogy. She had gone back 13 generations. Amazing.

 

I'm a mutt. Some say we're just a Heinz 57 (a little bit of everything).

 

I have quite a variety too. Mostly French-Canadian. I can do the same type of work in French

 

^

 

I am essentially 2nd generation American.
My parents were born in America.
3 of my 4 grandparents were foreign born.
(My father's mother was American one generation earlier.)

On my mother's side: English, Irish and Scottish.
On my father's side: Belgian and (further back) French.

I was only privileged to have known my father's parents.
My mother's parents were long gone before I was born.

 

Fascinating, Evan, I have to say. I just read the Draugas article you linked and see the controversy it creates. Without getting into any merits, I see Wikipedia has Brenner at June 12, 1871 – April 5, 1924, and I’m wondering where they got that vital record from. If there’s a birth certificate, that would be evidence on the issue, but the sources in Wikipedia don’t reference any. Did you consider trying to track one down? I know in those days they actually marked births by events, such as when someone’s barn burned down, and as such are more estimates than actual birth dates. In some cases, that is to say, that’s how they did it. If that’s what happened, here, there of course wouldn’t be any vital record, just a guess, leaving the issue hanging again to speculation.

 

Hi,

Jewish records of the region are missing. Not sure exactly what happened to them but they could have been burned or otherwise destroyed by Russian or German influences.

as I’m not of Jewish descent, I’m not familiar with the research which would be needed- but it seems such documentation is not available.

 

I admire the challenge you took on. More is being learned in the past 40 years or so that was known before that, especially American History. The race is on to gather and preserve records that can explain the 'story'. I hope you find a better resolution than you have a the moment, but a S VDB as a consolation prize is not bad either.

 

I have a written family history going back to 1645. It is in German so it's hard for me to understand a lot. But when I retire, I plan on devoting a lot more time to it.

 

It really does appear as if this birthdate given can not be backed up. Lithuanians (really, a lot of people of the time) didn’t care at all about birthdays. They knew for the most part the date, just the year seems to change as men lied to be younger to avoid mandatory conscription in the czars army.

This region is pockmarked by missing records. Russians fully BANNED the Lithuanian language for a long time, exhiling those who spoke it, and sometimes killing those who developed a book smuggling ring.

Even last names weren’t safe from Russian intrusion. My last name Šaltis in Lithuanian, Шалтис in modern Russian. In these records, as part of “Russification” surnames were changed. This Russification of my name would come out pronounced as Shaltisov. In Cyrillic, шалтьсов

It was cultural genocide

 

Certainly, there are incredible things to be found. My ancestors helped to colonize Canada, others were so poor they lived nomadic lives, some were Irish alcoholic no lives.

it really is incredible.. especially when the history almost overlaps between my two hobbies!!

 

@Evan Saltis It is exceptional when you can blend interests...creates limitless boundaries for discovery. I read Ron Chernow's, "Hamilton" a few years back. His research took him to places to discover records that went undiscovered for almost 250 years. Investigative research has gotten an adrenaline shot with the advent of the internet. Techniques and access have certainly improved. We are learning more about our history finding out some information we learned wasn't quite right and that other information creates greater clarity. Fun and interesting stuff!

 

My grandmother hired a Genealogist from Boston many years ago who, supposedly, compiled a family record back in time to The Plantagenet's. Unfortunately, the only surviving record is a handwritten statement penned by my grandmother. In 2013, I began researching my lineage and after 2 1/2 years was able to confirm the link. Was my journey difficult? Absolutely and fraught with many dead-ends, frustrations and burn-out, but when things look bleakest, I pondered what other direction I could investigate and I would begin again by taking this new path.
I hope you continue your research and find your way to those relatives of your past.

 

On this note- I specify because in high school I was the target of anti-Semitic harassment. As both one with a “strange” name and one with a large nose.

really, all that did was really solidify my interest in these subjects.

 

My mother's two youngest brothers spent a lot of time tracing the genealogy of their Norwegian father. They spent a lot of time in Norway going through archives and eventually traced his lineage to Denmark and a long line of Danish kings. Most notable was my ancestor was a bastard son of a Danish king. So, there has always been some truth to those calling me a bastard. No respect!

 

That is unfortunate but I'm glad you found a silver lining. My best friend also had an usual name and endured similar name calling. He grew up and bigger than the rest...the name calling stopped. Now we routinely play in a golf tournament, the Lithuanian Open. Proceeds go towards the procurement of relief items/medical items that are sent to Lithuania by this club. Good cause...but the real joy is the great food at the end of the event, prepared authentic Lithuanian cuisine and beer. No matter how bad a round one my shoot, the food more than makes up for a rough day on the course.

 

My grandfather is excluded from the Hennessey clan because of an illegitimate child. He felt the same way!